01 October, 2010

Vegan to Unprocessed (or How to Form a Relationship With Your Food)

Eating well ain't for sissies, lemme tell ya.

Exactly one month ago, I took a vow to not eat any meat nor any meat products for the entire month of September. Think of it as a "cleanse" or a fasting of sorts, much like observing Lent. My goal was to try out this new meatless craze that is sweeping the foodie world, as well as shed some weight, and force myself to replace meat with more veggies in my diet.

It was both easier and harder than I expected. I was taught to cook by placing carefully paired vegetables around a meat dish for dinner. Now, suddenly, the vegetable was Center Stage and dinner was all catawampus. That's like bringing a backup singer to sing lead vocals! I had no idea how to do this, but luckily, I figured out pretty quickly that non-meat dishes could be very satisfying and, in fact, just as filling and tasty as any meat dish I could throw together. So, a vegetarian diet became easy enough.

It was the vegan part that threw me for a loop.

First of all, vegans don't eat cheese. I know! My God! Seriously? And butter?! Get out! And my weekend breakfast omelet was obviously out. If that wasn't difficult enough, I found out that most veggie dishes in restaurants were accompanied by some sort of dairy --veggie pizza had cheese on it, bean burritos were baked with cheese and sour cream, caesar salad has cheese and eggs in the dressing, even the Dal Makhani lentils I like have butter/cream in them -- so that made eating out extremely challenging. And, let's face it. I love to eat out. So, I pretty much had to mostly stick to salads with no cheese. (I'm allergic to soy, which a lot of vegan menus have, in place of meat. Suffering cats!)

In essense, I had to cook and/or prepare most of my meals. I had to read labels and think about every purchase and every ingredient in those purchases. I ate a lot of fruit and made a lot of smoothies and salads at first. Then, I went through a soup phase. Then got a little more adventurous. By now, it's easy peasy. But make no mistake about it; I missed fish, butter, and sharp cheese. And yes, even meat, albeit not nearly as much as I anticipated. Something I always loved -- bacon -- seems unbelievably salty and fatty right now. I'm sure it'll grow on me again, but I'm just sayin' how I feel right this minute. But for all that I missed, I also fell madly in love with garbanzo beans, heirloom tomatoes, arugula, fresh corn-on-the-cob, leeks, fresh pineapple, homemade guacamole, wild mushrooms, and other fresh and amazing foods.

As I close the door on a full vegan diet, I'm opening the door to a new month: Unprocessed. I am embarking on a journey (with over 200 other people, I might add) of eating no overly processed foods this month. This is defined (for me) by whether something has ingredients in it that I would not have in my own kitchen (food stabilizers, chemicals, food dyes, and other additives), and I am going to be trying out my hand at making my own breads and pasta, as well as straight up cooking.

There will be fish. And probably some meat.

The irony was not lost on me that, during this vegan month, I photographed two butchers doing their work (a first for me). I also photographed the Herbfarm, and even had the chance to eat some of the food I photographed, but could not. Oh, the universe has a sadistic sense of humor!

In case you're wondering what a meat-eater such as myself could possible eat on a vegan diet, here are a few photos of some of my snacks or meals from last month.

wow, fantastic. I was all ready to tease you for going vegan for a month, but holy heck you ate better than I did (on a meat diet) easily! Fantastic photography, just incredible clean light - love it. The food looks really darn tasty too.

Jackie, congratulations on your vegan month. I am so happy to hear that you found it rewarding and satisfying.

Like you wrote above, I have known other new vegetarians say that the hardest part is trying to plan a meal without a protein at the center. I stopped eating meat in my late teens so I never got into that mindset, but I guess it does take a little more creativity to plan a veggie menu.

Anyway, thanks for making vegetarianism look so divine. The pictures are mouth-watering. I have tried several of the veggie recipes you've posted and they are all amazing.

I found your site while looking for unprocessed + vegan. There isn't a lot out there that focuses on both, would definitely be interested in you're combining the two! Either way, it's a beautiful site.

Am curious about: "As I close the door on a full vegan diet, I'm opening the door to a new month: Unprocessed. I am embarking on a journey (with over 200 other people, I might add) of eating no overly processed foods this month. This is defined (for me) by whether something has ingredients in it that I would not have in my own kitchen (food stabilizers, chemicals, food dyes, and other additives), and I am going to be trying out my hand at making my own breads and pasta, as well as straight up cooking.

Do you remember the name of the program or challenge? Do you know of one that is currently taking place? How did it go? (for you)

As many have said (but due worth repeating), amazing pics and great post. Can't wait to hear about the "unprocessed" challenge.

About the Writer

I'm a photographer, editor, and writer, specializing in food, events, and lifestyle. I am currently writing a book of culinary essays. My photos have appeared in Business Week, Seattle Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Seattle Bride, Eater Seattle, Food & Wine, and other publications. Check out my photo galleries at www.studiobaisa.com.